FIERY ILLUSIONS (Keeper of the Emerald Book 2)

by B. C. Harris

  Michael and Jamie laugh at the same time.

  “Actually,” Michael continues, “this is a mini-computer that looks like a watch.”

  “It is?” I say, staring at it. “Where did you get it?”

  “Both my mother and my father work for a company that builds surveillance equipment. My father is a design engineer and my mother is a product development manager. Their company sells sophisticated surveillance devices to large companies and the military. Even the FBI and CIA.”

  “CIA?” Drew responds in awe. “Your parents make spy stuff?”

  “Something like that,” Michael says modestly. “They often bring things home for me to play with and test. I don’t think they would mind if we used some of their inventions to help stop Santtonnice.”

  “What does the watch do?” Drew asks, pushing Jasmin out of the way to get closer to Michael.

  Guys. Gadgets. I think to myself.

  “You wear this like a wrist watch,” Michael says as he straps the device on Drew’s wrist. “You notice there are three buttons on the side of the watch.”

  “Red, blue, and green,” Drew says. “What are they for?”

  Michael turns to Drew.

  “Push the red button once to turn the computer on. Until you do this, it will appear to be an ordinary watch showing you the time and date. Once you push the red button, this will take you directly to the Internet where you can search for information or check your email. You can even use a map feature that will tell you exactly where you are and how to get to where you want to go. When you want to log out of the Internet, push the red button twice to turn if off.”

  “How can you type on such a small screen?” I ask.

  Michael smiles. “You don’t have to type anything. Just tell the watch what you want it to do and it will obey your command. Best of all, once it recognizes your voice it won’t respond to anyone else.”

  Now I’m beginning to understand a little more why it was so easy for Michael to hack into the administrative computers at our school. It’s almost like his parents are training him to be a spy.

  “Push the red button,” Michael says to Drew.

  As Drew pushes the button, we all move in closer to see the tiny screen.

  The Internet comes alive.

  “What are the blue and green buttons for?” Drew asks.

  “Push the blue button,” Michael says.

  As Drew pushes the blue button, the screen changes. As I peer over Jamie’s shoulder, the screen looks like our S O S chat room.

  “It’s our chat room,” Michael says. “All you have to do is tell the watch your message and it will appear in our chat room.”

  “Say something into the watch,” Jamie tells Drew.

  Drew says, “I feel like a real spy.”

  Immediately Drew’s words show up in our chat room.

  “Amazing,” says Drew. “It’s a spy watch.”

  “Actually they are called spy-bands,” Michael says, enjoying the attention he’s getting. “And we don’t need Internet access to use them.”

  “We don’t?” I say. “How is that possible?”

  “Let’s just say that they work off several military satellites orbiting the earth, and leave it at that.”

  We all look at each other. Now, I’m beginning to feel like a spy.

  “If only you had more of these watches, we could all communicate with each other,” Jasmin says.

  Michael smirks and reaches into his backpack. He retrieves a handful of watches with different colored faces and straps.

  “I want the pink one,” Jasmin quickly states.

  “What about the green button?” I ask.

  Drew pushes the green button.

  Instantly the screen shows the inside of his living room. The watch has turned into a mini-video camera.

  “All we need to do is strap one of these watches on Squirt or Radwin. They can sneak into the Colosseum and record whatever they see,” I say.

  “Sneak, sneak, sneak…” Squirt squeaks as he begins to jump up and down.

  We all laugh.

  “Good idea Emily, but I have something even better.”

  “You’re not going to believe this,” Jamie says.

  “What else is there?” Drew asks, totally absorbed by what he’s seeing.

  “Two other things first,” Michael says. “If any of us get caught by Santtonnice or any of his followers, push the red button, and count to five.”

  “Why?” Jasmin says.

  “By doing this, the system will shut down making it impossible for anyone to think that this is anything more than an ordinary wrist watch. This way, no one will be able to get into our S O S chat room to see what we’re planning. As well, when you do this, the watch automatically sends out a tracking signal which then makes it possible for the rest of us to use our spy-bands to locate where you are.”

  “Amazing,” I say.

  “Hold the red button down for another ten seconds,” Michael adds, “and the system will restore itself. In addition, if you push any two buttons at the same time, this engages a small laser system built into the watch. When you say ‘fire’, the watch will shoot a small, but lethal, laser beam wherever you aim it.”

  Michael thrusts his hands into his backpack and pulls out a small black object about the size of a bug in one hand and another object about the size of an i-Pad.

  I push Jamie and Drew aside to get a better look.

  “A fly?” Jasmin says at the same instant that I come to the same conclusion.

  “Why do you have a dead fly in your hand?” Jasmin asks.

  Michael touches the screen on the device he’s holding. Immediately the fly jumps from his hand and begins to dart around the room. Radwin begins to chase it.

  As the fly travels here and there throughout the room, I realize that Michael is controlling it.

  “It’s not a fly,” Jamie says.

  “What is it?” Jasmin asks.

  “It’s a nano-drone,” Jamie replies, “and the controller is called a spy-pad.”

  “It’s like a tiny remote-controlled airplane,” Michael says.

  As he turns the screen of the spy-pad towards me, I realize that the tiny mechanical fly is recording everything in the room.

  “It’s like a tiny flying camera,” I say enthusiastically. “Michael, can you direct one of these tiny robots into the Colosseum and film everything it sees?”

  “Yes,” Michael smiles, obviously proud of his technological wizardry. “I can direct the fly, as I call it, anywhere I want it go. The fly even has a powerful laser built into it that can cut through objects to gain entry through locked doors. And like the spy-bands, any video that it records is sent wirelessly to a satellite so we can retrieve the pictures once we’re back home.”

  “Incredible,” I say. “Now we have a good chance to discover what Santtonnice is planning to do, and we can do this without any of us exposing ourselves to danger.”

  “It gets even better,” Michael grins.

  “What do you mean?” I ask “How can this possibly get any better?”

  Michael directs the mechanical fly to Drew’s laptop that is sitting beside the TV. As it descends onto the laptop, Michael says, “Once the fly touches a computer it can copy everything from the computer hard drive within minutes. We will be able to steal the information from any computers that are inside the Colosseum. We should be able to discover the exact details of what Santtonnice is planning to do. We will also be able to locate your mother even if she’s being hidden inside a wall of mirrors.”

  For the first time, I’m beginning to think that we might be able to stop Santtonnice. My body tingles with excitement as I consider that we might even save my mother.

  “Emily” Radwin exclaims. “Look at the TV. Your picture is on it.”

  I gasp. My picture is larger than life on the screen. Underneath my picture is something about a reward.

  “Drew, turn up the volume,” Jamie says.

  The
announcer states, “The Washington area police are offering a one-hundred thousand dollar reward to anyone who can provide information on the location of this fifteen year-old girl. She may be armed and dangerous. It is believed that she is connected to the bombing at the DC Jail.”

  Connected to the bombing? Impossible. I almost faint.

  I’m trapped. For one-hundred thousand dollars, people will go out of their way to find me, regardless of where I am.

  I wonder if Santtonnice has somehow orchestrated this problem for me. I’m sure he was the mastermind behind the bombing of the jail last night. Did he have someone plant evidence in my house that linked me to the bombing?

  I glance at the stunned looks on the faces of my friends. Would any of them report me to the authorities in order to collect the one-hundred thousand dollar reward?

  - 50 -

  ROME

  It’s now almost midnight. The time has come for us to leave for Rome.

  I sense a growing excitement among my friends as we sit in Drew’s living room. Drew and Jasmin are sitting on the couch playing with their spy-bands.

  Minutes ago I used my emerald to visit the homes of Jasmin, Jamie, and Michael to bring them back here. Now we’re reviewing our plans to make sure that we’re set to go.

  After everything that has been happening, I’m exhausted. I tried to sleep after Jasmin, Jamie and Michael went to their homes earlier, but I couldn’t sleep.

  Although I’m tired, I’m thankful we’re all back together again. My friends have become my family. Their presence is allowing me to act much braver than I’m actually feeling.

  “Everyone,” Michael says, bringing my thoughts back to the reality of our situation, “push the blue button on your spy-bands.”

  As I push the blue button, the tiny screen comes alive.

  As Michael begins to talk, his words appear on my spy-band.

  COMIC MAN: Are there any questions about using your spy-bands?

  “This is so cool,” Drew says, obviously fascinated with his new toy.

  DRAMA: No. What’s going to happen next?

  I hold up a picture that Jamie printed for me. It’s the famous Trevi Fountain in Rome. When I took Jamie back to his house early today, we had a chance to talk a little about where we would start in Rome. Jamie suggested we begin at the Trevi Fountain because this was far enough away from the Colosseum to avoid the massive crowds, but close enough that we could walk to the Colosseum.

  I remember a little about Jamie’s wealth of knowledge about the Trevi Fountain. It was initially designed in 1629 by Bernini, but construction didn’t start until 1732, and wasn’t finished until 1762. Atop the sculpture behind the cascading waters of the fountain, Tritons guide Oceanus’s shell chariot. A modern day tradition of throwing coins over your left shoulder signifies that you will someday return back to Rome. I wonder if I will ever want to travel back to Rome again. Will my memories there be happy or sad?

  “This is the Trevi Fountain in Rome,” I say, attempting to control my anxiety. Even though my blonde hair is tucked into a bun under a baseball cap, I’m worried that someone might recognize me. What would happen if someone tries to apprehend me, or I get separated from my friends? If something happens to me, my friends would have no way to get back home. “The Trevi Fountain is about a twenty to thirty minute walk away from the Colosseum. This is our starting point. Is everyone ready?”

  Jamie and Michael nod enthusiastically.

  I’m not looking forward to the dangers I know we’re going to face, although another part of me is eager to rescue my mother.

  “I’m ready,” Drew says.

  “I’m good,” Jasmin says.

  “Okay,” I say. “If we get separated in Rome, we have our spy-bands. Let’s use them to keep in contact with each other.”

  I notice Jasmin staring at her spy-band.

  “Let’s form a circle and hold hands,” I say. “Squirt and Radwin, stay inside Michael’s backpack.”

  I remember Michael telling me something about his backpack delivering a shock if anyone tried to steal it from him.

  “Are you sure that Squirt and Radwin are safe if someone tries to take the backpack?” I ask.

  Three heads poke out from Michael’s grey and black backpack.

  “Absolutely,” Michael confidently replies. “If anyone pulls on my backpack, they will get an immediate shock, but anything inside the backpack will be protected.”

  I find enough courage to say, “Let’s go.”

  Michael and Jamie stand on each side of me with Drew and Jasmin on either side of them. We join hands.

  I look at the emerald hanging from my neck. On the edge of the couch, I’ve placed a picture of the Trevi Fountain. I lock this picture into my mind as my gaze turns back to the emerald.

  “Sandarium, Trevi Fountain in Rome.”

  The emerald begins to glow.

  I visualize the massive columns separating the statues. In front of the statues a river of water is flowing over the rocks in the blue-green pool of water.

  A horrible smell strikes my nostrils. I blink my eyes several times in order to believe what I’m seeing.

  We have arrived at the Trevi Fountain, but this is not the postcard version of one of the most famous fountains in the world.

  Within seconds, I understand the smell.

  There are dead bodies floating in the waters of the fountain. Also overwhelming is the reality that the fountain has been turned into a giant outdoor toilet. I had never considered what the hordes of people who had descended on Rome were using for washrooms. Now I know.

  The odor is repulsive. It’s all I can do to stop from vomiting.

  I feel a tug on my arm.

  It’s Jamie.

  As he tries to pull me away from the fountain, my friends looked stunned.

  Turning away from the fountain, I encounter a dishevelled sea of humanity.

  Old people. Young people. People representing every corner of the globe.

  It takes a few steps for the reality of what I’m seeing to sink in. When it hits me, I struggle to breathe.

  These people are not the happy followers of Santtonnice that were shown over and over on TV. They look desperate. They look hungry. They look angry.

  The stores and restaurants that surround the Trevi Fountain area look like they’ve been bombed. The windows are shattered. The doors are ripped out of their frames. As we approach the nearest group of stores, I notice they have been ransacked. The stores are empty, other than dozens of people milling about inside them as though they have adapted the buildings as their new homes.

  “No!” Michael shouts.

  As I turn in his direction, two ragged men are trying to wrestle his backpack away from him. Suddenly the men, shrieking in pain, fall away from Michael. They have just received a shock from the backpack.

  Crowds of desolate people are gazing at us, wondering what Michael did to the men. Wondering what five nicely dressed clean teenagers are doing in this cesspool of humanity.

  “Split up,” I order.

  Instantly, Jamie and I move to one side of the narrow street while Michael, Jasmin and Drew move to the other side. They quickly walk ahead of us.

  When we first decided to come to Rome, my main worry was what might happen if we were caught by Santtonnice. Now, I realize that Santtonnice is not our only source of danger.

  We are walking in what appears to be a war zone. There isn’t a storefront or restaurant that hasn’t been ripped apart. Glass is fragmented everywhere in the streets. The horrible smell that greeted us at the Trevi Fountain follows us.

  Angry, desperate people push against us with every step.

  The street name is Via Poli. I’m hoping that Michael knows the way to the Colosseum as Jamie and I are following him.

  I’m staggered by the obvious destruction that litters the street. Why have people done this? Although the announcers on TV alluded to there being some destruction in Rome, there were never any pictures of wha
t we’re now seeing. Across the street there is a burned-out overturned van that looks like it once belonged to a television news team.

  Now, I know why none of these pictures appeared on television. The roaming mob wasn’t allowing anyone to document what was really happening.

  In addition, I remember something on the news a week or so ago reporting that the Italian government had suspended any flights over Rome. The truth of what is really happening in Rome has been hidden from the rest of the world.

  Are these thousands and thousands of people, who are pushing and shoving, supporters of Santtonnice, or are these people his enemies? Did these people come to Rome to join Santtonnice, or did they come to protest against him?

  “Emily, can you see Michael and the others?” Jamie asks.

  Before I respond to Jamie’s question, I hear a scream.

  It’s Jasmin. I would know her voice anywhere.

  “That’s Jasmin,” I say anxiously. “But I don’t see her.”

  The crowd is pushing in on me from every side.

  I grab Jamie’s hand so that we don’t get separated. As I do this, I notice he’s looking at his spy-band.

  My spy-band vibrates.

  COMIC MAN: We’re trapped in a store. Several men are trying to assault Drama.

  “I’ve got their location,” Jamie announces to me as he looks up from his spy-band.

  “Over there,” Jamie shouts.

  There is a windowless building that from the ice-cream signs on its front might have once been a favorite tourist destination. I see a mob of men inside the ruined store.

  There’s another scream. It’s Jasmin again.

  I catch a glimpse of Michael, Drew, and Jasmin as the angry pack of men advances on them.

  Michael fires a laser beam from his spy-band at one of the men. Instantly the man drops to the floor in pain.

  I have a few surprises of my own.

  The last time I visited Capurni in his underwater world, he gave me further instructions on using my emerald. It’s now time to test what I learned.

  Holding the emerald before me, I point it at one of the men and say, “Abruella.”

  A bolt of lightning leaps from the emerald and strikes the man, sending him flying through the air.

  Before any of the other men can react, I use the same command to smash another three of them into a wall.